A Source of Income
by TheWindWakersDream
Summary: What would happen if Jaune managed to get a job working as a bartender in everyone's favourite club? 'Original story by God Emperor Penguin'
1. A Night on the Town

A Night on the Town

Despite the fact that it's one of the most important factors of living in the real world, getting a job is only ingrained into a person's head at a late age of childhood. Most people don't even attempt to get one until they're out of school, others prefer part-time jobs while attending.

Luckily for Jaune, he was one of the latter.

So Jaune found himself walking through the streets of Vale, alone in the middle of the night. He had arrived in the early morning and had been searching since then, but the places he checked either weren't hiring, or weren't hiring **him.**

The idea had sprung to fruition when Jaune received a call from his father, informing him, **at seventeen**, that he would need a job. Not only for the money but also for the: 'respect a man gets when wearing a uniform.'

Jaune could almost hear the manly tears on the other end of the line. He was merely considering it at that point, but it was what his father had said next that drove the point home. "No man can get a girl when he can't get a source of income."

Jaune was cleaned up and walking the streets of Vale within the hour. Sadly, his fragile ego took many a blow that day when all of the places he checked shot him down instantly. Jaune was even considering holding off the search until the next day, but he halted that train of thought when he bumped into someone.

Literally.

"Ugh, watch where you're going, loser!" Looking down, Jaune came face to face with a short girl with green eyes, long black hair and a favouritism for the colour white. He was reminded of Weiss for some reason but brushed the thought off.

"I'm so sorry for that miss; I wasn't watching where I was going." The girl scoffed at this and looked away, as if repulsed by the mere sight of Jaune. "Clearly." Alright, Jaune could definitely see why he was reminded of Weiss now.

Just as Jaune was about to respond with a snappy retort, he was interrupted by a quiet, almost shy voice. "You looked really distracted, are you alright?" Jaune took his attention away from the oddly dressed girl and turned his head to look at another.

This time Jaune was reminded of Ruby, for the girl was dressed in a red dress, accentuated with black highlights that, upon closer inspection, where actually articles of newspaper. He was tempted to read them but brought his attention back to the girl.

He then realized that the two must've been twins because, not only did their outfits match, they had the same pale green eyes and jet black hair, although the girl in red's hair was far shorter. They could both do without the makeup though, they looked like the same person and the only way he could tell their faces apart was from the blue eyeliner the one in white wore, and the red eyeliner on the other.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Jaune said calmly as he regained his composure. "It's just been a long day and I've had a lot on my mind." The girl in white scoffed again but the one in red seemed interested.

"Would you like to talk about it?" She asked as both Jaune and 'Whitey' as he had taken to calling her looked at the girl in surprise. He was tempted to accept her offer, but a harsh glare from the girl's sister sent those thoughts plummeting.

"No, I'd rather not take up your time, besides, it's not that interesting. I'm just a little bummed from not finding a job around here." This seemed to gain the attention of both girls as their heads jerked slightly in surprise. "You can't find a job?" Redly asked as Jaune looked between the two in confusion.

"Uhh, no I can't. I've been looking around all day but no one wants to hire some 'dyed hair hooligan'. I'm a natural blonde too." Jaune mumbled the last part as the twins huddled together and began to speak in hushed tones.

They stayed like this for a while and despite her seemingly shy nature, Redly could get angry when it looked like she wanted something. Whitey backed off after her sister said something about 'let Junior decide that' and continued to glare at Jaune as Redly smiled happily.

"If you'd like…" The girl started as she looked Jaune up and down. "I think you'd be perfect for a spot that opened up recently where we work." Jaune's azure eyes lit up at this and he began to speak both nervously and happily. "You think I could get a job where you work?"

She nodded as Whitey's scowl deepened. "What do you say; would you like to check the place out?" Jaune didn't hesitate for a second. "I'd love to!" He yelled as he grabbed the girls hand in both of his and shook furiously. He then proceeded to say 'thank you' over and over again at fifty words per second.

Through a surprising amount of effort, Redly pried her hand away from Jaune's and laughed softly. "Glad to see some enthusiasm. My name is Miltiades Malachite and this is my sister Melanie. Although, you can just call me Miltia."

Jaune nodded his head with a smile. "My name is Jaune Arc; it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Malachite." Whitey or Melanie as Jaune now knew her as cracked the slightest smile at this while Miltia blushed furiously. "Please, you can call me Miltia; just don't call me Miss Malachite." Jaune nodded again as he walked beside the two girls and they set off to their original destination.

"Whatever you say, Miss Miltiades."

* * *

Jaune was slightly surprised to find that the destination the girls worked at happened to be a night club, but figured that the security must be good if they can have such pretty girls working there.

After the two girls walked into the club as if they owned the place, Jaune got several odd looks as he awkwardly followed them. They only intensified when Miltia grabbed his hand and led him to what he thought was some sort of backroom. When he noticed the guns all the men carried, Jaune subconsciously moved his other hand to touch the hilt of Crocea Mors, making sure it was still at his side.

Perhaps that's why no one would hire him; he was the guy with the sword after all.

Shoving that thought aside as Jaune was shoved into a seat in front of some office desk; he looked at the giant chair on the other side of the table and waited patiently for the person in the seat to do their dramatic turn.

When they finally did, Jaune came face to face with what he thought was a bear, a giant black bear with red features. After nearly crapping his pants, Jaune turned to look at the girls to find they both had an exasperated look on their faces. "Really Junior?"

A roaring laugh escaped the bears… head as it grabbed what was obviously now a mask and lifted it off the man's shoulders. "Oh come on, that was hilarious and you know it. Just look at the kids face, priceless." Both girls rolled their eyes and Miltia nudged Jaune on the shoulder. "Introduce yourself." She whispered as the man in front of Jaune seemed to be growing bored fast.

"Hello sir, my name is Jaune Arc. I'm here about a job opening…?" Junior was surprised by this and looked between the two girls in shock. Melanie looked away silently while Miltia gave the man an innocent smile. He could only sigh.

"Miltia, what are you thinking?" The girl kept her smile as innocent as possible when she gave her reply. "He's pretty good looking and he's very polite. Even if he's never worked a day in his life I'm sure he'll pick up the mannerisms quickly if the others help."

The man could only sigh again as he looked Jaune up and down. "What did you say your name was again, kid?" Jaune was trying his hardest not to seem nervous and it was working for the most part. "J-Jaune Arc, sir." For the most part.

Junior was about to respond but cut himself short. "Arc…" He looked at Jaune once again and went over every detail that was physically possible when it came to the boy. His eyes soon landed on the sword that sat at Jaune's waist and he smiled approvingly.

"You ever bartended before kid?" Jaune shook his head, signifying that he hadn't. Junior rolled his eyes as if he already knew the answer. "Well you'll want to learn because you've got the job." Jaune and Miltia both smiled wide while Melanie scoffed once again and left the room. Jaune was literally jumping for joy while Miltia kept her happiness more composed.

"When do I start?" He asked with glee as Junior walked out of the room as well. "When you get dressed, come with me." Jaune was slightly confused by this, but a reassuring look from Miltia was all he needed to follow after the man.

After leaving the room and following the man through what could only be described as: A seizure inducing death maze, Jaune found himself in a large, walk in wardrobe filled to the brim with formal attire. Most of which seemed to be black suits with red ties.

After giving his measurements to the man in front of him, Jaune had a black suit thrown into his arms. "Go into the changing rooms and put this on." He said as Jaune followed the order and quickly changed. Jaune soon stepped out clad in a white dress shirt with black pants, black leather shoes, a black jacket and a red tie.

He almost felt wrong in the getup and when he saw Junior and Miltia's concerned faces he knew they did too. "Hold on a second." Miltia said as she looked around the hangers of clothing. She soon pulled out what appeared to be a black vest and threw it to Jaune. "Try this on and leave the jacket off."

Jaune did as he was told and entered the room again, he could swear he heard someone sadly say the words. 'But that's my look…' But immediately shot down that thought. No way a man as big as that could be so superficial.

Jaune emerged from the room again to find better results, their faces were definitely **less **concerned, but they also weren't happy yet. Junior was about to give up and leave things as they were, until Miltia spoke up once again. She was clearly a lot less shy than Jaune had first given her credit for.

"Junior." She said as she brought his face down to her level and began to whisper things into his ear. His eyebrows shot up and he looked Jaune up and down once again. "Yeah, that may actually work…" He said as he looked Jaune in the eye.

"Wait here, I'll be right back. And **don't **touch anything." Jaune nodded in confusion as he left the room. He looked at Miltia with said confusion written on his face and she sighed as she looked around the room. "Most people who work here aren't very bright; a lot of them never even finished school."

Jaune nodded in understanding, not entirely sure of another way to respond. He had grown rather accustomed to simply bobbing his head up and down in response to things. Not a moment later, Junior re-entered the wardrobe and handed a long piece of silk to Jaune.

A blue tie.

"This is the only one of these I own so you better not get it dirty kid." Jaune took the tie and held it in reverence. Uttering a quick thank you, Jaune undid the red tie from his neck and began to do up the blue one. Fear was easily taking over as he didn't want to rip the fabric or damage it in any way and he found it harder to adorn the piece of silk.

Miltia rolled her eyes at this and decided to help out. Junior raised an eyebrow at the display, finding it rare for the girl to be so outgoing. When she stepped away from the boy, Juniors eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. The tie **definitely **did the kid justice as it matched his eyes perfectly.

"You sure know how to choose 'em Miltia…" He said quietly as he draped an arm over Jaune's shoulder. "Alright, listen up Kid, 'cause I'll only be saying this once. I'm your boss, my name is Hei Xiong, or more often referred to as Junior. I'm going to teach you how to make drinks then you're going to make them for whoever asks you to." Junior walked Jaune out of the wardrobe and out to the dance floor.

They made their way around the ecstatically drunk partygoers and towards the main bar. "My business isn't all drinks and parties though; I will admit I do some shady stuff here and there, hence why everyone who works here is armed to the teeth. I know everything on everyone in this city and information is valuable, so are stupid people willing to work for damn near nothing." They entered the bar from the side and Junior booted the current bartender out of his spot.

"I'm going to need you to turn a blind eye to all of this. Nobody's getting hurt so I'm sure you won't mind too much, yeah?" He didn't wait for Jaune's response. "Now, there are a few rules to this place. Number one: no one here knows your name, it'd be best to keep it that way. Number two: fighting is strictly prohibited unless a person isn't willing to pay up. Number three and this is the most important: the Malachite's are off limits." Jaune was slightly surprised by this, but waited for his new boss to continue.

"I know they're cute and all, and sure they can be a little flirty, but don't try anything on either of them. Believe me; you don't want to know what happened to the last guy…" He shuddered at the memory. "You may have a shot since Miltia's been warming up to you, but Melanie is **very **protective. It's for your own good."

"I understand Mr Xiong; I'll keep my hands off." Junior laughed at Jaune's formal attitude and pat him on the back. "Junior, the name's Junior, Kid." Jaune began to feel nervous at this. "With all due respect sir, you are my boss, wouldn't it be best for me to call you by your last name?"

Junior began to laugh harder at this and looked Jaune over once more. "She really does know how to pick 'em… Alright Kid, you can call me that if you really want to. Now, any questions?" Jaune thought about it for a moment and came up with one that had been plaguing his mind for a while.

"Is there a reason behind Miss Melanie and Miss Miltiades' sense of fashion?" Junior nearly wet himself from laughter at Jaune's use of the twin's names. It took him a while to recover, but once he had stopped his laughing fit, Junior cleared his throat. "I've been wondering that myself for years now, they've never really told me, if you want to know: ask them. But I doubt they'll answer the question, they seem to get pretty defensive about it…"

Jaune's confused look snapped Junior out of his reverie and he cleared his throat again. "Now then, was that all?" Jaune nodded his head and Junior smiled down at the boy. "One more thing before we get started…" Junior reached over and ruffled Jaune's hair slightly before putting his hands down on the bench of the bar.

"We're all family here Kid, we take care of each other. Sure everybody who works here is usually an idiot, but they're a lovable idiot and we keep them safe. You take care of us and we'll always return the favour." Jaune smiled up at the man and nodded his head, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "I'll protect this place and everyone in it with my life sir!"

Junior laughed once more. "Good to see some enthusiasm. Alright let's get started. Now the first drink you'll need to learn to make is a Strawberry Sunrise, do **not **ask me why…"

* * *

Melanie sat in one of the bar stools that adorned the stupidly long bar and watched with unhidden annoyance as Jaune made drinks like a pro. She glared at him even harder as his blue tie shone in the flashing lights. "I really can't see why you're so against the guy." Miltia said as she sat next to her sister, also watching the blonde as he performed.

"He's just another idiot like the rest of them; he'll be out of here by the end of the night." Miltia laughed softly at this as Jaune decided to show off his dexterity by flipping the glasses around and performing a few tricks with them as if he had been doing the job all his life, instead of the actual ten minutes.

"Not the way I'm seeing it." She said as Melanie turned around and glared at her sister. "One thing I'm seeing," She started as Miltia looked to her in confusion. "Is the tie I gave to Junior for his birthday last year." Miltia froze in fear as she looked at Jaune once again. "Oh." She said as she inched herself away from her sister.

"**That's **where he got it from…" Melanie rolled her eyes as she looked between the blonde and her usually shy twin. "Another thing…" She said as she began to smile mischievously. "Is your massive crush on the loser." Miltia blushed as red as her dress as she quickly stood from her seat, stammering out excuses all the while.

"W-what?! Don't be silly, I don't have a crush on him!" Melanie rolled her eyes once more as she looked at the blonde in question who was also blushing furiously while a random woman attempted to flirt with him.

"He better not disappoint…"


	2. Mondays

Mondays

Jaune knocked off work that morning at exactly two a.m. after rushing to the two thirty airship, Jaune got back to Beacon at three and fell asleep the second he hit his mattress. The alarm was set for eight, giving Jaune five hours sleep and just enough energy to get him through the day.

Jaune felt fully rejuvenated after resting his tired arms from two straight hours of moving them and was now ready for school. Everyone hated Mondays for very good reason, but Jaune always managed to think of them as a chance for new beginnings. Tuesdays were the worst day of the week to Jaune.

Everything weird always happened on a Tuesday.

As he got ready that morning, Jaune woke his team and they all headed off to breakfast. Jaune's 'uniform' was now hung up in his closet proudly showing his status as a working class man. Sadly, no one managed to see it.

As Jaune and the rest of his team situated themselves at the usual table, team RWBY burst through the doors of the cafeteria with Yang leading the charge. Blake followed closely behind her, the smallest etchings of a smile on her face while Ruby and Weiss casually chatted behind them.

Jaune couldn't help but be reminded of Melanie and Miltia at the sight of the red and white themed girls. After they had all gotten themselves some food, team RWBY sat at the table across from JNPR and began to dig in. Pyrrha was the first to initiate any form or conversation and it was directed at Jaune.

"Say Jaune, how did the job hunt go? You were gone all day." Everyone at the table looked to the boy; RWBY did so in surprise rather than interest. "Jaune, you were looking for a job?" Ruby asked as she tore into another cookie. Jaune nodded nervously as he scratched the back of his neck

"Yeah, you need Lien if you want to make ends meet and although everything is payed for by the school, I still need some if I want to buy anything." Everyone nodded at this and looked to him expectantly. "So?" Nora asked in anticipation. "Did you get a job then?"

Jaune laughed softly as he looked between his friends, his gaze lingering on Ruby as he was reminded of his new friend Miltia. "It wasn't working out when I first started, I was searching all day at every store I came across but no one would hire me." Everyone was disappointed to hear his search ended fruitless.

"That is until I met a very unique pair of girls. They were both **very **beautiful and, although one was a bit crabby." Jaune's eyes found Weiss' "Hey!"

"The other was really nice and quirky." He looked at Ruby once again who looked back in confusion. "What?" She asked as Jaune rolled his eyes slightly.

"In any case, they both took me to this club that they work at and talked to their boss about getting me a job. After a bit of an interview, he put me on board and now I'm working under a Mr Xiong as a bartender!" Pride filled Jaune's voice as he clenched his fist, trying his hardest not to let the manly tears fall.

Everyone was surprised by this. "But, you're only seventeen; don't you need to be at least eighteen to work at a place like that?" Blake asked as she looked at the blonde, confusion clearly written on her face. He laughed nervously once again.

"Yeah, Mr Xiong said that the place isn't one hundred per cent legal anyway, so it didn't matter much. Besides, twenty six Lien an hour is still twenty six Lien an hour." Everyone was shocked by Jaune's rebellious attitude, but no one was more so than Yang.

"So Jauney boy, you're working at a club. Does that mean you get a discount on drinks?" Jaune laughed slightly as he turned his attention to the blonde brawler. "I'm not allowed to drink while it's my shift, but yeah I do get a discount on the stuff."

Yang's eye held a glint that would scare away the hardiest of Hunters. "So does that mean **I **could get a discount if I came by and got some drinks from you?" Jaune laughed once again as he looked Yang in the eye. "You can come by anytime you like Yang and I'll be sure to get you some cheap stuff."

Yang thought for a moment. "Do you know how to make a Strawberry Sunrise?" Jaune looked at her with a slightly surprised expression. "Yeah, it was the first drink I learned to make. Mr Xiong wouldn't tell me why though…"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "It is a pretty good drink; I'm sure people order it a lot." Jaune shook his head. "Nope, not a single customer has ordered one yet." This seemed to strike a blow to Yang's pride as she looked at Jaune with tears in her eyes. "W-what…?" She whimpered out as Jaune grew nervous quickly.

"Uhh. b-but **I **really like it, great drink, ten outta ten." This seemed to ease Yang's woes as she composed herself and looked Jaune in the eye. "So, would it be alright if I drop by sometime?" Jaune sighed to himself, thankful that he managed to calm the beast. "Sure, anytime you'd like."

The rest of the day passed by without incident and Jaune was relieved of school's traumatizing grasp at three p.m. Sadly, however, there was always homework and Jaune decided to get straight into it as fast as possible today.

Running to his dorm room, Jaune cracked open the books and got to work. Two hours later, he was on the roof of the building with Pyrrha training his swordplay and growing ever stronger. Another two hours passed and although his body was tired and beaten, Jaune managed to change into his uniform, which caught the attention of both Pyrrha **and **Nora, then leave for the seven thirty ride to Vale.

He arrived at the club at ten to eight and realized that this was going to be his schedule from now on. There would be no room for resting. He would wake up at eight in the morning, go to classes at nine, knock off school at three, study and or rest for two hours before he did his daily training with Pyrrha at five, finish **that **at seven then make his way to work at eight.

He would knock off at two then hit the sack at three. Jaune wasn't entirely sure if his body could handle the constant stress, or even if his mind could handle it either. How long would he be able to keep up with that sort of strain?

'Whelp.' Jaune thought as he opened the doors to the building. 'I guess there's only one way to find out.' As Jaune entered this time, he found that none of the other people who worked there payed him any heed, it seemed as if everyone knew who he was already.

Jaune pushed the thought aside as he made his way to the bar and greeted the current barman. "Hey dude, I'm here for my shift." The man nodded and left the bar without a word, merging into the crowd of people on the dance floor, never to be seen again.

Jaune pushed **that **thought aside as well as he noticed the twins coming his way. He cracked a wide grin at their arrival. "Ahh, Miss Melanie, Miss Miltiades. It's good to see you again." Melanie snorted, whether it was out of humour from what he said, or disdain, Jaune couldn't quite tell.

Miltia seemed to have a better reaction though as she blushed a deep red and attempted to scold the boy. "I told you to call me Miltia!" She yelled as Jaune put his hands in the air in defence. "Technically you said I **can **call you Miltia, just don't call you Miss **Malachite.**" He couldn't help the smile that grew on his lips when she started fuming.

'Yep, never going to stop calling her by her full name.' He thought as she went into a tirade about 'respect' and 'dignity'. Jaune thought he saw Melanie crack a smile as well, but brushed it off as his imagination.

"You two can flirt on your own time; you've got customers to inebriate, Kid" Junior appeared from seemingly nowhere behind the two girls as Jaune and Miltia grew red. "We weren't flirting!" They yelled in unison as Junior rolled his eyes. 'Children…' He thought.

"Kid." He said as he pointed to the other end of the bar where bored looking people sat watching them. "R-right away, Mr Xiong!" Jaune yelled as he sped to the customers to get them completely hammered.

Junior sighed. "That Kid's making more money than any of the other bartenders here, yet it's like he has no idea how to even talk to people." Melanie laughed at this and gave Junior a pat on the back. "I couldn't agree more, he's such a dork when it comes to people."

They all turned to look at Jaune as he spun bottles of alcohol through the air to impress the customers. "Yet he's a prodigy when it comes to bartending." Miltia let out as she smiled softly at the sight.

Junior laughed and voiced his agreement while Melanie rolled her eyes, an act she was getting more and more used to by the second. "Whether he's a dork or a prodigy, the kid's the best thing that's happened to this place in a long time and the customers love him."

His eyes found Miltia's and he smiled evilly. "Among other people…" Miltia blushed again and was about to go into yet another tirade, until Jaune stood in front of her with a confused expression on his face.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked as he looked between the three of his superiors. "Shouldn't you be with the customers?" Junior asked as he sent Jaune a strict glare. Jaune laughed slightly as he pointed to the end of the bar, where four to five people now lay unconscious on the floor.

"Lightweights."

Junior rubbed his temples as he walked to the end of the bar and called some grunts over to help carry the people out. As he was doing this, Melanie snuck off into the crowd of dancers, completely unnoticed by Jaune and Miltia.

When they turned back to look at each other, it was only then that they noticed they were completely alone. "W-where'd Melanie go?" Jaune asked as he looked around. There weren't even any customers to occupy himself with.

"I-I don't know…" Miltia replied as she looked around for her sister, finally spotting her on the other side of the club, smiling down at her. Miltia could only sigh when she turned back to Jaune.

Jaune thought long and hard for any topic to talk to the girl about, but he wasn't sure if he should talk about **that**. After deliberating for a moment, Jaune decided there was no harm in asking the girl and went with it anyway.

"Miss Miltiades, could I ask you something?" Jaune said nervously as his hand went to the back of his head. "W-what is it?" Miltia replied. "Is there a reason behind your outfit? I mean, it's **literally **made from newspapers."

Darkness seemed to shroud Miltia's eyes as she tilted her head down. Jaune even felt a cold chill waft through the air. "There are some answers you don't want to know Jaune…" Jaune got the message and nodded his head in fear. 'I should probably listen to Junior from now on…'

Miltia's eyes brightened considerably and she smiled happily at Jaune. "Wonderful! I'm glad you understand." Jaune nodded again, a small nervous smile on his face. 'I don't really understand, but I suppose it's best not to.'

Not long after their awkward interaction, Jaune noticed someone signalling him from afar, he immediately took his opportunity to get away from the lethal girl and earn his pay. Miltia gave a long sigh of relief when he left and Melanie soon returned to greet her.

"Wow, you must **really **like him if you didn't tear his jugular out after he asked you that." The girl said as she sat next to her sister. "I can still remember the look on the last guys face." She smiled at the memory.

"Probably going to need more control though, you seemed to scare him off pretty badly." Jaune made no attempt to flip the glasses as he poured into them and even then he almost spilt the drinks most of the time.

Miltia sighed again, this time out of sadness. "Don't worry." Melanie said as she put a reassuring hand on her sisters shoulder. "The loser does have **one **redeeming quality in my book. He's kind to a fault; he'll probably forget you ever even got close to snapping at him."

Miltia smiled to her sister. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

After six straight hours of pouring drinks and dodging acts from women that would closely resemble sexual harassment, it was time for Jaune to knock off work. He was now one hundred and fifty six Lien richer and although the work could be exhausting, Jaune honestly couldn't see himself doing anything else.

Both Junior and Miltia called him a masterful bartender, so apparently he was good at it. Even Melanie showed acknowledgement of his skills. Although she never actually said it verbally, it was more like a less harsh glare than usual, but Jaune would take all the praise he could get.

Thinking back, Jaune almost laughed at the thought of himself working a simple cash register, or mopping floors. He could only see himself flinging easily breakable glass containers through the air at impossible angles while they were filled with literal poison.

It was clearly his calling.

But even then, Jaune's new job would be nothing if it weren't for the people he worked with. Junior was an amazing mentor and Jaune picked up everything he was taught in no time. The man clearly knew what he was doing and that was something Jaune respected about him, he was good at what he wanted to be.

Something Jaune couldn't quite relate to.

Despite her icy exterior, Jaune found that Melanie was actually a very funny person. Admittedly, most of her jokes were insults and most of them were directed at him. But they were funny nonetheless! She also shows great concern for her sister and Jaune had started to see the girl more like Yang over Weiss.

Speaking of her sister, Miltia was an amazing person to be around. Sure, if you use the wrong topic of conversation things could get a little… horrifying, but Jaune always managed to get the girl into a talkative mood some way or another.

Her shyness obviously melted away when she felt comfortable, another fact that Jaune was immensely glad for about his co-worker. There was always the odd, awkward moment with the girl that Jaune couldn't manage to avoid, but he had no idea as to why they were popping up, so he brushed them off as his own crippling awkwardness.

All in all, Jaune was getting paid good money to do something that he found fun while being surrounded by beautiful women and kind people. Jaune was living it up.

So it was with a happy smile on his face and a song in his heart that Jaune dragged himself to bed that morning and proceeded to face plant his mattress, letting his mind drift to the land of dreams within seconds.

Now he just needed to stay prepared for the hell that always came on a Tuesday.


	3. High Heels and Painted Nails

High Heels and Painted Nails

**I want to say sorry to anyone who's waiting for Velveteen Knight, Black Cat or Heroes and Dragons to update. I'm afraid that the only thing I can **_**physically make**_** myself write about at the moment is Source of Income. I'll be back on track with the others once I've exhausted myself on this, I promise. I apologize for any inconvenience**

* * *

Tuesday. Tuesday never changes.

It was with a heavy heart that Jaune dragged himself out of bed that morning, he had no idea what was coming up. He knew it was something, it was **always **something, but Jaune wouldn't know until it came.

You see, every single life changing moment that had ever occurred for Jaune, occurred on a Tuesday. The creation of Jaune's team and his position of leader for instance. Jaune has no doubt in his mind that if initiation happened one day before or after Tuesday, he wouldn't have been made leader, there is no doubt.

When Jaune admitted to forging his transcripts, simultaneously breaking the trust Pyrrha held for him and gaining the leash Cardin held around his neck for so long, he admitted it on a Tuesday.

The decapitation of an Ursa Major, saving Cardin's life and reinstating Jaune's confidence happened on, you guessed it! A Tuesday. Many major events occurred even before Jaune's entrance to Beacon that only ever happened on a Tuesday, even if it wasn't life changing, Tuesdays were always weird.

The time Blake went missing came to mind, the night she disappeared was a Tuesday, obviously. All in all, Tuesdays were Hell and Jaune could only sit on the sidelines and watch as everything deteriorated into madness.

"**That **is why I'm a little on edge today Pyrrha." Jaune said after he explained the circumstances of his apparent insanity. "Because today is Tuesday and today is to be feared." Pyrrha sighed with a small facepalm as Jaune stood in the lunch line, taking up everyone's time.

"Jaune, I was just asking why you were taking so long to pick your food; I never even mentioned you being on edge." Jaune's reply was a small twitch of the eye as he continued to go on another spiel. The entire cafeteria groaned in aggravation.

"I still can't believe that degenerate is spending his time with **other **degenerates, at a pub no less!" Weiss practically screamed at her team as they all attempted to eat their breakfast in peace.

Weiss would be having none of that.

"He's breaking the law!" Yang sighed softly as she put down her sandwich. "And? I'll admit I've done some shady stuff in the past, underage bartending seems like child's play compared to it." Blake nodded in agreement. "Exactly, you all know the stuff I've done. Jaune's 'lawbreaking' is pretty much laughable."

Ruby voiced her opinion as well. "That's right. Besides, no one's getting hurt and Jaune seems happy." They all looked to Jaune and Pyrrha as they sat down at the table; Jaune was chittering nervously as he looked behind his back. "…For the most part."

Weiss held her opinion to herself as she glared at the blonde speaking nonsense and incoherencies, muttering the word 'Tuesday' over and over again. Jaune jumped when he felt something on his back and turned to Pyrrha to see her smiling softly at him

"Jaune, you do this every week. I will admit that Tuesday's can be weird, but you can't let it consume you." Pyrrha thought back to the fact that ever since she met the blonde, Tuesday's **had **been consistently odd.

Jaune took in a deep breath and meditated on the words his partner had spoken. "Yeah, you're right. I'll just calm down a bit, it's not like anything bad could happen **every **Tuesday…"

* * *

"It's this way."

"What? No it isn't you idiot, it's **that **way."

"Eheh, I believe you are mistaken, what we're looking for is in this direction **over here.**"

"Mercury, the Club that Cinder sent us to find is on that side of town."

"No it isn't Emerald, it's on this side of town."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it **is.**"

"No it **isn't.**"

"**Yes it is.**"

"**No it isn't.**"

"YES IT IS!"

"FINE! You think it's over there?"

"Yes."

"You really think it's over there?"

"That's right."

"You're one hundred per cent certain that we need to go in that direction?"

"I am."

"Then I'm going in this one."

"Oh, OH! I see how it is. Fine. Then when I find the club, I'll message you to come over **this **way."

"Alright, when **I **find the club, I'll message you to come **that **way."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Awesome."

"Fantastic."

"Great."

"Good!"

"FINE!"

Emerald stormed off to the eastern side of Vale while Mercury went west.

"I'm glad we had this conversation."

"As am I."

* * *

Jaune was still nervous when the bell rang, signalling the end of classes. He decided that 'if he's not awake to experience something bad happening, it won't happen.' So he bolted for his dorm and jumped into bed, setting an alarm for five to train with Pyrrha.

When he eventually awoke, Jaune found that his alarm did not wake him at five, it woke him at seven. Shocked, Jaune looked around the room to find it empty, although there was a note on his alarm.

It read: Jaune, we'll be skipping training tonight, you'll need the extra rest for work. Make sure you eat something while you're there too!

Pyrrha

"Well." Jaune said aloud as he jumped out of bed. "That was awfully nice of her." He then proceeded to take a quick shower and change into his uniform. He took a moment to admire the beautiful blue tie before leaving the room and heading to the airdock.

When he arrived, Jaune boarded the seven thirty ride and waited patiently for the ship to land. By 'patiently', that of course means he was dry heaving his non-existent dinner into the nearest trash can.

The ship soon docked in Vale and Jaune sprinted off, resisting the urge to fondle the lands beautiful, smooth ground. He then made his way to the club, feeling excited just to be back there. Upon arrival, Jaune busted the doors open and strutted into the building, whistling a happy tune.

After booting the current bartender out of his spot, Jaune took his rightful place behind the counter and started serving drinks. His smile was infectious as every person he served grinned happily at him after receiving their alcohol.

"Ahh, this is the life…" Jaune's smile turned into a curios frown when he noticed the doors to the club swing open and a woman with green hair stepped in. She looked over the whole place and smiled, then immediately went back outside.

Jaune was relatively confused by this, but shook off his curiosity. Plenty of weird people come here. Hell, plenty of weird people **work **here. So Jaune continued to serve the patrons with a smile on his face.

Ten minutes later, his smile disappeared once more as the woman returned with a massive grin on her face and a man walking in next to her. The man had silvery grey hair and he wore a massive frown. He was also mumbling something that Jaune couldn't quite hear.

Soon enough, they both made their way to the main bar and straight up to Jaune. "Hi there!" The green haired girl greeted happily as she sat in one of the stools, the man not far behind her.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" Jaune asked politely. The girl smiled wider and looked around the club. "Nothing to drink, thank you. But I've got to ask. This is Junior's Club, isn't it?" Jaune was slightly confused as to the difference between Junior's Club and any other club, but nodded anyway. "Yes, it is."

The girl's eye's sparkled in glee. "Wonderful, Mercury hold my spot." She then stood up and walked away, Jaune couldn't tell where, but she was definitely searching for someone. As Jaune turned to 'Mercury' and was about to ask him a question, Melanie sat down next to him and ordered a drink.

Jaune obliged immediately and as he got to work to make her a 'Vanilla Virgin' the man next to her spoke up. "Hi there, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" Melanie turned to the guy and laughed, it sounded like the most innocent thing in the world, but Jaune knew better. Sadly, Mercury didn't.

"Oh, I just came here with some friends; I don't know where they went though…" She played the part of the ditzy party goer well, Jaune felt true pity for the guy who was about to be shot down brutally. "So you're all alone huh? That's too bad… Y'know, **I **could keep you company."

Jaune had to look away when Melanie looked at the guy with the brightest smile you would ever see. "I'd rather not waste my time with a pathetic loser like you." She then snatched the now finished drink out of Jaune's hands and left the bar.

As much as Jaune felt bad for the guy, he couldn't help but laugh at how perfectly it all played out, that and the dude's hilarious expression. "You want something to wash down that crushing rejection?" Jaune asked with a huge grin. "Or perhaps something to cool off that sick burn?"

He then erupted into a roar of laughter and had to hold his knees for support. 'Not even **I'm **that bad at flirting!' As Jaune regained control of his body, he looked up at the furious man in front of him. The guy was practically seething.

"Yeah. Give me your hardest, cheapest drink…" Jaune nodded his head and made the poor fellow a 'Slow Ride' and handed it to him. "On the house, I know how hard it can be to get shot down…" The guy nodded and skulled the drink, he had to shake his head after finishing it.

"So what are you doing here?" Jaune asked. "Your friend seemed to be looking for someone." The man looked around the club and turned his attention back to Jaune. "We're here on business. Our employer has tasked us with looking for someone and told us to head here. Apparently, 'Junior knows everything on everyone' so here we are…"

Jaune nodded his head thoughtfully. "Yeah, he did say something about that." Jaune then noticed a few other people had taken a seat along the bar and returned to work. "Good luck finding them then!" He called out as he walked away. Mercury grunted in reply.

Soon enough, the girl returned and Junior himself left his office to meet the two. "Alright, who are you looking for and how badly do you want to find them?" Emerald smiled at the bear of a man. "We're looking for a guy by the name 'Jaune Arc'. Cinder gave us quite a sum of Lien to give to you to tell us everything you know."

Jaune nearly dropped the glass he was cleaning when he heard that and nervously shifted a glance at Junior. Junior did the same. "Never heard of him. Why's he so important anyway?" Emerald's smile dropped and Mercury's grew when Junior said this.

"We don't ask Cinder questions. You know what she says: 'Knowing what to know when you need to know' and all that cryptic crap. Besides, you know **everything**. Don't lie to us now." Junior waved his hand through the air dismissively. "I'm serious, I've never heard of the kid." Mercury's smile widened.

"Who said he was a kid?"

As he said this, Mercury's boots seemed to shift slightly, no one but Jaune noticed. "Y-you know how I refer to people; even Roman is a kid to me…" Emerald smiled once more as her hands shifted to her back, where two hidden daggers lay resting. "I don't think so, Junior."

'**SSHIIIING!'**

"I'd choose your next move **very **carefully if I were you." A moment passed when Jaune finally realized that it was his sword that was drawn and he was the one who spoke. The tip of his blade also rested at Emerald's throat.

Both Emerald and Mercury frowned at this. "Who the hell are you?" Emerald asked as she shifted her gaze from Junior to Jaune. "Jaune-**athan Orca**!" Jaune blurted out. "Yep, the name's Jonathan Orca. Now I suggest you leave before things get messy." As Jaune finished his sentence, dozens of henchman surround the group and trained their guns on the duo.

Mercury sighed. "I was really hoping this wouldn't happen." Emerald shook her head. "As if it was going to be this easy…" In an instant the both of them were far from Jaune and Junior and half of the guards now lay on the floor unconscious.

As Jaune looked at the two, he could see that Emerald's blades were now drawn and Mercury had one leg raised while his boot slowly emitted smoke. An all-out war began in the next few seconds as all of the dancers ran from the building and all of the henchman ran for the two fighters.

Jaune leapt over the bar and stood next to Junior as all of his co-workers were used to mop the floor. "What do we do?" Jaune asked as Junior reached below the counter of the bar and pulled out a large, metal… thing.

"We wait." Junior replied as the thing shifted form and turned into a baseball bat. "Is… is that a baseball bat? You fight people with a giant baseball bat?" Jaune looked at the man incredulously as he simply grinned at the boy. "Not everything is as it seems, you'll learn that soon enough."

"What do you…?" Jaune stopped himself from finishing his sentence when he noticed the pleas of the damned had ended. He then saw one of the suited men fall before him. Jaune looked up to see Emerald and Mercury standing tall, completely unharmed.

Jaune was about to ask what to do again, when someone else spoke up. "Wow, you really **are **pathetic, aren't you?" He then turned his shocked gaze over to the stairs and saw Melanie and Miltia walk onto the dance floor. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?!" Jaune screamed as they both gave him a confused look.

Junior put a hand on Jaune's shoulder and smiled. "Just watch." Jaune found it easy to oblige when he noticed he was frozen in fear. 'What do they think they're doing? They could get hurt, what if they-' Jaune's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he noticed Miltia stretch her arms into the air.

That was when he saw them. Jaune saw a pair of claws adorned on Miltia's hands; they were blood red and quite possibly the most menacing things he had ever seen. "She takes care of her nails." Jaune nodded dumbly as he watched the two of them stop in the middle of the dance floor.

He followed and Junior stayed close as well, while the dangerous duo came closer and closer. A sparkle caught Jaune's eyes and he looked down at Melanie's shoes. He wasn't very surprised to find that her heels were actually knives, after what he saw on Miltia, he wouldn't be very surprised by anything for a while.

Jaune noticed their adversaries slowly coming closer and closer, so Jaune took in a deep breath and let his instincts take over. "Alright everyone, listen up. The guy is wearing a pair of boots that has projectile qualities, so Melanie, you're with me. I'm going to need you to match his foot work with your own. I'll keep my shield ready in case he decides to attack from afar."

He turned to Miltia. "Miss Miltiades, I can only imagine you're quick with those claws. That girl's daggers are fast too, make sure you attack quicker and try to stagger her. When you do, Junior will come in and deliver a home run. Got it?" Everyone was hesitant to trust Jaune's fighting prowess, but decided to go along with his plan, no one else could think of one after all.

Junior and Miltia nodded with a smile and although she was fairly hesitant about it, Melanie eventually agreed and the group split up. The two enemies did the same. Jaune watched with increasing trepidation as the man he was getting ready to fight grew a massive grin and did a false swipe with his feet.

Jaune flinched and Mercury laughed uncontrollably which only caused Melanie to sigh. "I can't believe I'm stuck with the two losers…" Jaune rolled his eyes and glanced at her from the side. "You think **all **guys are losers." She didn't even glance back. "Well they are."

Mercury grew bored of the two bickering at each other and decided to take action already. He jumped high into the air and raised his leg vertically with him; he then shot off a round from his boots and performed a traumatizing kick to Jaune's unprotected chest with his heel.

Jaune went skyrocketing.

"Ugh, do I have to do everything myself?" Melanie said just loud enough for Jaune to hear as she ducked low to the ground, spun on her heel and delivered a powerful strike of her own, knocking Mercury back a few feet as well.

Jaune groggily sat up and stood his ground, albeit a bit wobbly. When he looked up, he saw that Melanie was an incredibly capable fighter, he was certain that he'd lose if he went up against her alone. She danced through the air as she spun and flipped, landing attacks on her opponent that would definitely be categorized as deadly. Too bad he wasn't dead yet.

Jaune was once again unsure if he should categorize the girl under 'Yang' or 'Weiss.'

When he saw her leap into the air and do a three sixty spin kick that perfectly landed on Mercury's face, he decided to cut his losses and just think 'Melanie' when describing her.

As much as he wanted to run in and help, Jaune knew he would just get in her way until Mercury decided to put some distance between them, so he instead decided to check on how Miltia and Junior were doing.

His jaw dropped. Miltia was in a frenzy, landing strike after strike with deadly accuracy. Every attack clearly took off her enemy's aura and the inquisitor herself knew she was outmatched. Jaune knew never to think of the twins as weak or helpless ever again, especially when he saw that both of them looked **bored.**

The woman with the daggers took a hearty blow from Miltia, one that Jaune couldn't even **see** and as she staggered back, Junior ran in and nailed her right in the face. The girl went flying into the air and she smashed into one of the giant glass pillars that adorned the dance floor. 'That's going to cost a bit…'

Jaune soon turned his attention back to Melanie and noticed just in time that Mercury finally decided to move back, Jaune took this as his chance and ran into the fray. Moving in front of Melanie, Jaune unclipped his sheath from his belt and extended it into its shield form.

Then everything stopped.

Mercury stared in shock as Jaune stood, patiently waiting for his time to shine and defend his co-workers. But the attack never came, Mercury didn't move an inch, he just stood there staring at Jaune's shield.

Then he burst out laughing. He laughed his ass off until he couldn't stand anymore and he dropped to the floor in a fit of giggles. Emerald eventually managed to stand and was ready to berate her partner, until she saw what he was laughing at and joined him.

The entire time, the defenders of the club felt very confused. After some time, Emerald stood up and turned to the group. "Thanks Junior, you managed to help us find him after all." She pulled out a small piece of paper and threw it to the group. Jaune picked it up off the floor and looked at it, he then paled in shock.

"That's the Arc family crest, and it's on '**Jon**athan **Orc**a's' shield. Isn't that right, Jaune?" Jaune merely glared at the grinning girl as she smirked at him. Mercury eventually managed to stop laughing and stand. As he did, he raised his leg, and Emerald lifted her arm at the same time.

Both of their weapons were cocked.

Jaune immediately raised his shield and moved in front of the group, the duo fired at the same time. Jaune felt a small force against his shield and was relieved to know he blocked the attack. He barely heard Emerald mention the fact that they'd return at some point over the sound of screaming.

Jaune turned around to find Miltia on her knees, staring at her own hands, drenched in blood. She was shot in the stomach and she passed out within seconds. "Miss Miltiades? M-Miss Miltiades?" Jaune asked in horror as he slowly dragged his feet to the girl.

He fell to his knees and cradled the girl in his arms as Junior ran to call an ambulance. Melanie also left to find some form of first-aid. Jaune just stared into the unconscious face of the girl he had grown so fond of recently. "You're going to be fine, Miltia."

'I hate them.' He thought as Melanie returned and got to work on her twin, fear making her look infinitely less beautiful. 'I hate them so much.' Junior returned as well and informed them that an ambulance would arrive within a few minutes. 'I hate them with all my heart.' Jaune could still only stare as his new friends life slowly ebbed away.

'I HATE TUESDAY'S!'

* * *

**Fight scenes are hard...**


	4. Natural Beauty

Natural Beauty

Twelve hours. It had been twelve hours since Miltia was admitted to the hospital and Jaune hadn't left her side since. Sure, Junior and Melanie told him to get some rest and he'd gotten a few messages from his team asking where he was.

But Jaune wouldn't dare leave her side, he **couldn't. **It was his fault that Miltia was where she was and Jaune would be damned if he wouldn't be there to apologize when she woke up. He didn't care if he was skipping school, he didn't care if he was worrying his friends. The only thing Jaune could care about anymore was Miltia.

Nothing more and nothing less. "Come on, Miltia. Wake up so I can say I'm sorry already…" He knew she couldn't hear him, but Jaune still spoke to her as if she were talking back. The silence was always deafening.

"You **really **should get some sleep." Melanie said from the door way as she watched Jaune with pity. Jaune always wanted the girl to acknowledge him with an emotion that wasn't hatred, but pity made him realize you never really know how much you miss something until it's gone.

"Not yet…" Jaune replied as he continued to watch Miltia sleep. Melanie sighed. "Then give me your Scroll, I know you haven't told anyone where you are. The least you can do is let your parents know."

Jaune chuckled. It was slow and dry and humourless, but it was something. "My parents don't live in Vale; you'll have to call my team." Melanie was fairly confused by this. "Team?" She asked as she scrolled through his Scroll.

"I never told you? I'm attending Beacon Academy; I'm the leader of a team there." Melanie wasn't sure what shocked her more, the fact that the 'loser' was the leader of a team of warriors, or how nonchalant he was about it.

"I… see." She said slowly as she found three contacts prefaced with the letters **JNPR.** "Your team is called… JNPR?" She asked as she opened up the message screen for 'Pyrrha.' Jaune nodded slowly as Melanie looked through the two dozen messages left from the girl, all of which asking where he was and what had happened.

"Nice name." She replied as she informed the girl of Jaune's whereabouts and the happenstance that lead to his placement there. Afterwards, she returned the Scroll to its rightful owner and left the room. Jaune still just continued to watch Miltia sleep.

It wasn't only out of guilt though. Jaune felt nothing but remorse for what happened and that caused him to only stare at the girl he failed. But there was another reason he was staring. Jaune was transfixed by her beauty.

When the paramedics brought her in, they wiped Miltia's face clean and removed all of her makeup. Jaune hadn't turned away from her since. She looked **stunning **without the makeup on; her natural beauty outdid any and all professional artists.

Jaune knew without a doubt that the twins would look a lot less similar when they had their makeup off, who was more beautiful, Jaune didn't know. But that didn't matter much to him anyway, at least not at the moment.

All that mattered was her forgiveness, something he wasn't even sure he would be able to get. Junior blamed himself for what happened as well, much to Jaune's chagrin, so he still had a job at the club. Melanie was sure Miltia would forgive him, so she did as well.

It was just the person who didn't deserve any pain that Jaune needed forgiveness from, the one person that wasn't even **capable **of forgiveness at the moment. But Jaune would wait as long as it took for her to wake up and see him.

The club had some major damage done to it during the fight, so it would need some renovations. Some new henchmen too, so Jaune wouldn't need to go to work for the next few days or so. Junior insisted on paying him for the day he worked and as much as Jaune declined, the man wouldn't take no for an answer.

So Jaune waited, he waited for Miltia to wake up and he waited for the moment he could relieve his tired mind of all the guilt that was currently pent up. He wasn't sure what he'd say to her beyond the words 'I'm sorry.' But Jaune was certain that improvisation is one of his strong points, so long as he called her Miltia, things should be good.

* * *

"Nobody's getting hurt, huh?" Weiss asked her team after JNPR informed them of Jaune's whereabouts and his current status.

'Dead to the world.'

"How was I supposed to know his boss had enemies?" Ruby replied as she, Blake, Yang and Weiss all sat in their dorm room thinking over Jaune's current predicament. Pyrrha had told them everything during lunch and the girls couldn't focus on class at all for the rest of the day.

It was only when the school day had ended had they finally began to even **speak**. "I wonder when he'll be back…" Yang thought aloud as the room remained silent. "Soon. A bullet wound can obviously be dangerous, but a shot to the stomach isn't that fatal. His friend should be up in no time, then I'm sure he'll be on the first ship back here." Blake replied as she relayed her knowledge on human anatomy.

It was quite extensive. "I knew something like this would happen, I knew somebody would be hurt there." Weiss said softly, almost as if she were talking to herself. Yang shook her head. "It's just a club, Weiss. Most of them aren't dangerous at all, and even the ones that are really don't do much." Weiss gave Yang a harsh glare.

"Should I be curious as to how you know so much about these sorts of things?" She asked as Yang looked back at her with a bored expression on her face. "I've been to a few clubs in my day." She said as she thought back to the days of her youth. "Sometimes for fun, other times for information."

Blake seemed confused by this. "Information?" She asked as Yang's eyes subconsciously shifted to Ruby and thoughts of Yang's mother resurface. "You don't want to know… In any case, something like this shouldn't have happened and I'm sure it won't happen again."

Weiss scoffed. "Like you could possibly know that." Yang grinned at this and turned her head to face Weiss. "I'm sorry, how many clubs have **you **been to?" She asked as Weiss blushed and looked away with a scowl. "Oh, whatever…"

One point for Yang.

* * *

"That's why Jaune wasn't in class today, Professor Ozpin and I'm afraid we don't know when he'll be back." Pyrrha said as she stood in the Headmasters office with Ren and Nora. Ozpin merely took a sip from his cup.

"I understand completely, these things happen. I'll be sure to notify the other teachers and let them know of your leader's predicament. You are excused." Pyrrha nodded her head in thanks and left the office with the rest of her team. Ozpin just took another sip.

"Mmm, good hot chocolate today…"

As the remaining members of team JNPR left the office and began the long wait in the elevator to get back to ground level, a looming silence hung over them. It wasn't broken until they awkwardly crossed the entirety of the academy and made it back to the dorms and into their own room.

They all sighed as they simultaneously flopped onto their beds. "Two dozen messages and the only reply I get is from someone else…" Pyrrha muttered through her pillow as she lay on her stomach. "I can only wonder what he's going through." Nora replied as she sat up and looked to Ren for support.

In some way he managed to give it. "I suppose we could go to the hospital and check up on him, see how things are going." Nora and Pyrrha smiled at the thought. "That's not a bad idea, we should support our leader through the tough times he's having." Pyrrha declared with a grin.

Nora thrust her arm into the air with a loud 'YEAH!' and began to bounce on her bed and come up with ideas. "Should we bring a gift? The message said that Jaune's friend is a 'she' so we should bring something that girls like. Like PANCAKES! Oh my Gods, Ren, we need you to make a giant batch right now, then make another one so we can give it to Jaune's friend."

Ren wasn't sure if he was actually happy that Nora was back in a good mood again, the silence was so nice… "Nora, we aren't going to give Jaune's lady friend a batch of pancakes, she just got shot in the stomach. Flowers, on the other hand…" Nora was less excited by the prospect of vegetation than she was when it came to food, so she somehow managed to quiet down for a moment.

'Works every time.' Ren thought to himself as Pyrrha decided to start talking. "We should stop by the flower store on our way into Vale, then pick up something she'd like. Whatever that may be." Ren nodded and Nora frowned, but nodded as well.

"It's settled then. We'll head into Vale and visit Jaune and his friend at the hospital."

* * *

"Junior, how did this happen?" Melanie asked as Junior paced back and forth in his office, one of the only parts of the building that wasn't demolished by Emerald and Mercury. "It was Cinder; she sent them after the Kid." Junior said, almost muttered, as he continued to pace.

"Why? Why would Jaune be important to someone like her?" Junior stopped abruptly and looked at the girl in white and sighed. "He may not know it, but Jaune and I have a history in some way. 'History' wouldn't be the best word and I never actually met him before he came in here, but he and I have a connection."

He began pacing again. "In fact, I'm certain he doesn't know it. But it's probably better that way…" Melanie was fairly confused by this, but it definitely answered a question that had been building up for a while. "Is that why you hired him with no hesitation?" Junior nodded.

"Yeah… Damnit, it's just not fair that Miltia had to get hurt for **my **screw up." Melanie shook her head slowly and put her hand on Junior's back. "She'll understand. You know her; she'd probably forgive the scum that shot her if she apologized."

Junior laughed, it was a slow, dry and humourless laugh. "Yeah, that's her alright." The man gave a long sigh. "I hope Jaune can take it easy after she wakes up, things have been moving way too quickly and we definitely need to slow down. It'll take a bit for this placed to get fixed up anyway, so he should be able to just relax at school."

Melanie nodded. "If he doesn't decide to seek vengeance himself." Junior laughed again. "Yeah, he took that 'family' thing pretty seriously." Melanie laughed as well. "Yeah, he looked like **such **a loser when he said that." She smiled softly at the memory.

"Oh yeah, speaking of school. Did you know that he goes to Beacon? He's even the leader of his own team." Junior perked up at this. "Hah, not a big surprise." Melanie was **very **confused by this. "What do you mean by that?" She asked as she gave Junior an odd look.

Junior just shook his head. "It's not important. Come on, we should go check on him, he's probably starved himself by now." He left the office and made his way to the front door with Melanie right on his heels.

* * *

"I wonder if I could leave for just two minutes to grab a sandwich…" Jaune thought aloud as he eyed the door, calculating the time it would take to reach the cafeteria and get back. "There's no way she'd be awake by then…" He continued as his stomach growled softly.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." A weak voice replied as Jaune whipped his head back to look at Miltia smiling at him softly. Jaune immediately grabbed her hand. "Miltia, I'm so sorry that happened. It was all my fault, I shouldn't have been so flimsy with my blocking and I-"

"Jaune." Miltia said as she looked at Jaune with shock written on her face. "Y-yes?" Jaune replied as he closed one eye and turned his head, **barely **looking at her. "Did… did you just call me **Miltia**?" She asked with pure awe in her voice as she looked Jaune up and down.

She then put a hand against his forehead and leaned in close. "Are you feeling alright? You're not sick are you?" She looked into his eyes and blushed after realizing how close they were. Jaune moved back a bit after noticing it too. "What do you mean? How can you ask if I'm okay after **you **took a bullet?"

Miltia seemed slightly confused by this. "Uhm, because I'm worried about you?" She even tilted her head to the side, Jaune just shook his. "So, you're not angry at me? You don't blame me for what happened?" Miltia's head tilted even further.

"Why would I possibly blame you?" She asked as Jaune's eyes slightly watered. "Because they were there for me. If we never met you wouldn't be in this position right now and you-"

"Jaune." Miltia said with a small smile on her face. "If we never met I wouldn't be able to do this." Jaune's head tilted this time, his eyes still watering. "Do wha-" Miltia interrupted him by leaning her head over his shoulder and wrapping her arms behind his back.

"This."

Despite Jaune's positive flabbergasm, he wrapped his arms behind her back and smiled. "You're too good to me…" He whispered softly as time slowed down and let Jaune enjoy the small moment. Sadly, as always, it ended far too soon.

"Wow, Jaune. You really **are **a LadyKiller…" A voice said from the doorway and caused Miltia and Jaune to shoot back to their original seating. After looking at who spoke, Jaune's jaw dropped when he realized it was Ren. He then looked next to the man and saw the rest of his team standing next to him; Melanie and Junior were behind the group as well.

"Uhh, it's not what it looks like?" Jaune both said and asked as his friends walked into the room. Pyrrha laughed at the comment as she placed a bouquet of flowers on the bedside table, Chrysanthemums. "Somehow I doubt that, Jaune. Still, it's good to know that your 'friend**' **is alive and well."

She turned to Miltia who lay in the bed, blushing. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos; I'm a member of Jaune's team." Miltia's confusion was quite a surprise to the group. "His team?" She asked as she looked at the other two members of Jaune's posse.

"Wait…" She slowly drawled out as she looked at Pyrrha with painstaking detail. "You're **the **Pyrrha Nikos?! The four-time champion of the Mistral regional tournament?!" Pyrrha blushed slightly at the attention. "It's no big deal…" Miltia's shock was put aside for a moment as Nora spoke up.

"Jaune, you did tell your friends about us, didn't you?" Jaune's nervous chuckle was all the reply they needed. "Jaune! I'm hurt, how could you not tell your new friends about your **team**? The people that have your back?"

Jaune grew uneasy at this. "I-I just forgot, okay? It never came up in conversation." Ren shook his head slowly. "I don't think so; I think you just don't care about us." Jaune paled immediately. "Guys… That's not how it is…"

Pyrrha scowled at the nervous blonde. "I can't believe I thought we were friends…" The poor boy was on the verge of tears when Nora finally snickered. The rest of the group followed and soon everyone was laughing at Jaune's anguish.

"Oh come on!" Jaune yelled at the group as they erupted into a roar of laughter and giggles. Even Melanie and Junior joined in. "You guys are jerks…" Pyrrha's laughter soon died down into small giggles as she spoke their apology. "Sorry Jaune, that was just too good to pass up."

Jaune rolled his eyes as he turned to Miltia, who also lay clutching her stomach to ease the pain of laughter. "Miltia, my team. Team, Miltia." Everyone said their hello's as Miltia turned to Jaune. "I can't believe you're going to a school like Beacon, you're a leader no less!"

Jaune turned his head and stuck his nose high into the air. "Hey, I may look weak and pathetic. But the eyes can oft deceive…" Miltia nodded in agreement. "They certainly can! To think a little guy like you was chosen over a champion. I mean, I knew you'd be good in a fight, but not **that **good."

Jaune's smile turned awkward. "Alright, I get the point. I'm better than I look." Miltia's shock didn't die down. "Even then I always thought you'd lose in a fight pretty quickly!" Jaune's eyes turned downcast. "Y-you can stop any time now…"

"I mean, I thought you'd go down like a brick against any Grimm, or even a normal human…" Jaune's was back to the verge of tears. "You're hurting my feelings." Miltia finally let up when she noticed his solemn expression. "Hey, are you alright?"

Jaune's team laughed at the two when all Jaune could do was sigh. Junior was happy to see Jaune out of his depressive rut and Miltia back on her feet. All of team JNPR was glad to have their leader back and Miltia was just glad to be **alive.**

But Melanie wasn't quite as happy as everyone else. She didn't know why, but when she saw the loser and her sister hugging, Melanie felt an odd sensation in her chest. After much deliberation in her head, and noticing that she was upset with **Miltia **and not Jaune, Melanie soon realized what the problem was, and it terrified her.

Melanie was jealous of her sister…

* * *

**Bit on the short side, I know. But the next one should be longer.**


	5. Downtime

Downtime

Miltia had to stay in the hospital for the next week to heal her wound properly and Junior's club needed renovations, also taking roughly a week to heal. So Jaune now had a week off work and he was going to relax with it.

Junior explicitly said not to do too much because he wanted Jaune in tip-top shape when he returned to work. Jaune didn't need to know the man for too long to realize he was just worried about him.

Miltia told Jaune he didn't need to worry over her as much as he had and told him **not **to waste his time on her. Jaune would be having none of that. He told her that he'd be coming by every day after school, and an Arc never goes back on his word.

He had also taken to calling her Miss Miltiades again, much to her dismay.

But Melanie was a worry point for Jaune; he hadn't seen the girl at all since Miltia woke up. Miltia herself also told him that her sister hadn't visited. After inquiring with Junior, Jaune was told that the girl just had some issues she needed to deal with on her own for a while.

Disappointed, Jaune agreed not to go in on her 'girl-stuff.'

So now he sat in the cafeteria during lunch. His team by his side and team RWBY across from him, with Ruby and Weiss in a deep conversation about weapons, Blake reading a book and Yang pestering Jaune for details about his 'girlfriend.'

Pyrrha just had to tell them…

"Yang, for the hundredth time: Miltiades is not my girlfriend." Jaune said with a tired tone, sick of having to repeat himself to the girl. Yang was on the opposite side of the spectrum, somehow gaining a sick joy from annoying the boy.

"Oh come on LadyKiller, you wouldn't be seeing her every day if she wasn't." She said with her head tilted forward and eyes locked to his, as if saying: 'You know I'm right.' She wasn't. "Yang, is it that weird for me to visit a friend in the hospital when they're hurt? I'd visit anyone from your team every day if any of you got hurt."

Yang seemed to tone it down from his words, after realizing he made a good point. She wasn't done pestering him though. "What kind of name is Miltiades anyway? Sounds weird to me, I'm not even sure I'm pronouncing it right. Mil-sha-des? Mil-shades?" Jaune sighed out of grief. 'So close.'

"I will admit that it's kind of odd, that's why most people just call her Miltia." Yang's head jerked slightly and her eye twitched at the sound of the nickname. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" Jaune looked at her in confusion. "What, you mean her nickname? I said that it's Miltia."

Yang focused long and hard over that one name. 'Where have I heard that…?' She thought as she wracked her head for any memories of the word.

She came up dry.

"Eh, even the nickname sounds weird, I mean Miltia? She a one-woman army or something?" Jaune laughed at the thought. "She may as well be, when she was fighting she was moving so quickly I couldn't even see her."

Yang was impressed by this. "Oh? Well what was her weapon?" Jaune shook his head with a smile and wagged his finger in front of her face. "Uh, uh, uh. You said you'd check the place out some time; I'd rather not ruin the surprise."

Yang grumbled slightly but agreed to his terms nonetheless. However, knowing that this girl worked at a club and was named **Miltia**, Yang had sudden memories of her fight with Junior and the odd twins that fought her.

'Did that girl say Miltia…?'

"Jaune, I still find it hard to believe that your friend was injured in a fight. She was the sweetest thing alive when we met her." Pyrrha said to Jaune as she overheard his and yang's conversation. Jaune laughed slightly. "Yeah, she is really kind. I'm glad to have met her."

Yang shook her head. 'No, there's no way Jaune could find a girl like **that **to be kind. I'm just thinking of someone else.' Yang then grinned when she realized what Jaune said. "Glad to have met her, huh?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

Jaune sighed. "Oh come on…"

* * *

Let it be known to any and all who may inquire that Professor Oobleck's history class is in no way boring. Just watching the man could be entertaining as he flash-stepped halfway across the room. If you make a game out of guessing where he may go, it gets even better.

Not to mention his map on the back of the room. Many students have been trying to guess what all the lines entailed after Oobleck told them it was a 'work in progress.' Even simply trying to decipher what the man actually put into his thermos to make him as hyperactive as he is can be fun.

If you asked if Professor Oobleck's **curriculum **in his class was fun, you'd then get a harsh no. Professor Oobleck's curriculum held information on recent history. **Very **recent history, such as the Faunus war, or more importantly, what followed after it.

Something that no one entirely wanted to hear. As Professor Oobleck trailed on about all of the promises the human's broke to the Faunus, the crowd was split up into three different groups: The majority who were indifferent on the problem and slightly annoyed that they were learning about it in school.

The middle ground that were happy to hear that the 'animals' didn't get what they wanted and the rest of humanity didn't have to follow along with what some stupid politicians thought was a good move.

And finally, the minority that were outraged by the rest of the crowd for not caring about people that were being abused. This group consisted of Jaune, Blake, Pyrrha, Velvet and any other Faunus that were either unnamed or in hiding.

Jaune understood the feeling of loneliness and pain as much as the next and it infuriated him when he knew there were hundreds of innocents who were still in such dire straits. Blake had experienced firsthand the kind of pain Faunus were subjected to, she felt oddly numb to all the humans that didn't care.

Velvet was far less radical than Blake, knowing the pain Faunus could be given and still **experiencing **it at the current time. Pyrrha had never experienced too much pain throughout her life, but the mere prospect of how others were treated when she knew full well that people could be greater than they know with a little push was simply atrocious.

So while Oobleck trailed on and on about the White Fang this and the SDC that, the four teens in the minority sat seething in their seats, counting the minutes until class would end and they could leave the sensitive atmosphere.

Luckily, the bell rang within a few minutes and Jaune was sprinting out the door to reach his room. "Why's he in such a rush?" Blake asked Pyrrha as they packed their supplies. "He's going to go visit his friend at the hospital; I'd imagine he's excited to see her." Blake nodded absentmindedly as she saw Velvet slowly leave the room, avoiding the harsh glares cast her way.

Blake frowned as she and Pyrrha left the room, but it lessened when she saw Velvet standing with her team and smiling with them, laughing at their jokes and making their own. "Hmm, what was that?" She asked Pyrrha when she realized the girl had been speaking.

Pyrrha just sighed as they walked to their dorm rooms. "Nothing."

* * *

Jaune was feeling oddly happy as he made his way through Vale. Obviously, the thought of your friend in a hospital was not a good one, but seeing your friend **outside **of work was also a nice thought to have. Especially when they're as pretty as Miltia.

'Maybe I should bring a gift…' Jaune thought to himself as he passed through one of the many market districts lined up in celebration of the coming Vytal Festival. 'Flowers would work, right? She seemed to enjoy the ones Pyrrha brought…'

As Jaune passed by a flower stall, he decided now would be as good a time as any to check in. His eyes surveyed the arrangements of beautiful colours, but despite his vast knowledge of what girls like, Jaune never learnt much on flowers.

"Looking for something special?" The stall owner asked as he noticed Jaune hadn't made a purchase. "Yeah, something for a friend of mine, she's in the hospital and I want to surprise her." The clerk smiled. "A she, huh? Alright, you should give her this, although a bouquet would work even better."

The man handed Jaune a beautiful, unbloomed red rose. "How much for the bouquet?" The man smiled. "For you? Let's say, twenty Lien." Jaune nodded his head and handed the man his money. "Deal." The man took the money, bunched up a dozen flowers and tied them together, then put them all in a decorative, white cloth to hold.

"Here you go." Jaune said his thanks and took off. 'I hope Miltia likes these. I heard that flowers can mean something; even their different colours symbolize stuff. So red roses are for friends?' Jaune continued through the streets until the hustle and bustle of the market was far away.

'If not, I think I may have just been swindled out of my money…' Jaune turned another corner and the massive hospital came into view. 'Aw well, they look pretty. I'm sure she'll appreciate them.' Jaune finally entered the hospital, got a visitors pass and made his way to Miltia's room.

As he got closer, Jaune could swear he hear shouting. He quickened his pace and soon found himself at the door. Wasting no time, Jaune knocked and flung the door open. "You always do this, Melanie! Every time I-" Miltia halted her yelling when she saw Jaune step into the room.

"Hey Miss Miltiades, what's…" Jaune's voice trailed off when he turned to look to his side and saw Melanie standing in the room. "Melanie? Where have you been? It's been days since I last saw you." Melanie turned away from Jaune and stuck her nose into the air. Her usual pose. "What do you care?" She asked.

Jaune was fairly surprised by this. "What are you talking about?! I was worried about you! You are my friend after all…" Melanie turned her head and scowled at Jaune. "A friend?" She spat out. Jaune just nodded his head. "Yeah, you both are." His head jerked slightly. "Oh yeah, speaking of which."

Jaune then pulled the bouquet of flowers from behind his back. 'Hmm, it **has **been a while since I last saw her… oh what the hell.' He then pulled six of them from the bunch and handed them to Miltia, he gave the other six to Melanie.

"It's been a while since we saw each other, so I guess this is necessary… Do you like them?" Jaune was blushing and slightly nervous, unsure if he made the right choice in bringing them. Miltia smiled happily and held them close, also blushing like mad. "I love them, Jaune."

Melanie was staring at the roses in shock. 'What's he trying to say by this…?' This was a cause of concern for Jaune. "Melanie, are you alright?" The girl in question looked away from the roses and into Jaune's deep, blue eyes. She then smiled at the boy. Melanie smiled a true smile, one that Jaune had never seen before.

Needless to say, he was fairly surprised by this. "Melanie?" he asked again as she turned away from him and began to walk for the door. "I'm fine Jaune, thank you for asking. And thank you for the roses. I'll see you later."

And with that, she was gone.

"Huh." Jaune said as he turned from the door to look at Miltia. "That was weird. And say, were you two fighting before I came in?" Miltia looked away from the flowers and frowned as she set her gaze on Jaune's confused face.

"Yeah, just sibling rivalry stuff. You wouldn't understand…" Jaune scoffed as he sat down next to the girl. "Miss Miltiades, I grew up with seven sisters. I think I know a thing or two (or seven) about sibling rivalries." Miltia smiled softly at Jaune then frowned again as she looked down at the roses in her hands.

"It's… a bit of a competition, so to speak. We both want the same thing, but only one of us can have it." Jaune looked at her with a small, confused smile. "What's the thing?" Jaune asked while Miltia blushed and continued to stare at the roses. "It's best not to say."

Jaune sighed. "Well, can't you just share the thing?" Miltia's blush deepened. "That may work in some fantasy land, but **definitely **not in real life. Besides, this isn't the first time something like this has happened." Jaune nodded, deep in concentration. "I see…"

'I don't see at all!' He coughed softly and looked to her. "What happened last time?" Miltia's eyes darkened slightly and Jaune could swear he saw tears in them. "Melanie won last time; she got what she wanted while I was left behind."

Then suddenly, a fire lit up in her eyes and she turned to Jaune with a look of determination. "That's why I won't let her win this time! I won't lose to her and I **will** get what I want!" At some point in her little outburst, Miltia grabbed Jaune's hands tightly.

"R-right… Just don't let this little competition control you. You may be fighting, but you're still sisters. Don't ever forget that." Miltia smiled at Jaune's worried attitude and tightened her grip on his hands.

She then realized she was holding them and promptly let go, blushing like mad. Jaune simply returned them to his lap. "In any case, I'm sure this thing will blow over soon. Who knows, maybe one of you will stop wanting this thing…" Miltia smiled and shook her head.

"Not a chance."

* * *

Roughly one hour later, Jaune decided it was about time he headed off and left for Beacon. Miltia waved him off and smiled softly as he lingered out the door. Not thirty seconds later, Melanie came through and sat next to her sister.

Miltia had been expecting this and waited patiently for her twin to begin. Melanie seemed conflicted and after quite some time, she decided to speak. "You're right, this has happened before and it didn't end well for either of us."

Miltia crossed her arms and waited for Melanie to continue. "I also know that when there's something we both want, I can get a little aggressive." Miltia raised an eyebrow. "I can get **very **aggressive. But Jaune's different and we both know it. He's kind, and caring and naïve. He'd never do anything to hurt anyone he likes."

Melanie stopped to think for a moment. "I'm not just going to give up and let you have him. But I'm also not going to be aggressive; I'll wait for him to make a move-**if** he makes a move." Miltia continued to stare at her sister for a few seconds, waging the pros and cons of this agreement.

She abruptly sighed and lowered her head. "I guess that's the best I can hope for. Promise not to let things get too heated if he chooses me?" Melanie nodded. "Only if you do the same." The twins smiled and shook each other's hands; they then gave each other a warm hug.

'If only it were this simple…' They both thought as their arms wrapped around each other. 'Things always get heated.' Miltia thought, pulling back from the hug to look Melanie in the eye, knowing that she was thinking the same. 'I hope for Jaune's sake he can handle it all.'

* * *

Junior let out a long, defeated sigh as he sagged into a couch that resided in a dilapidated apartment complex, which would act as his home for the next week. He took another glance at the construction bill and held in a small whimper.

'This is even worse than the bill that Blondie gave me after she destroyed the support beams in the building! How does it cost more to repair a few bullet holes in the walls and some craters in the floor than the entire building altogether?!'

He sighed again as his body moved closer to the floor, his neck being the only thing connected to the back of the couch. 'I'm going to need to dock some pay for this.'

His mind went over all the candidates for pay docking and soon he was reminded of Jaune. 'Ahh, the Kid. Poor guy's already broken the three rules. I suppose some kind of punishment is in order…' After doing the math, Junior noted that taking him down from twenty six to sixteen Lien an hour for two weeks should cover the costs in that time.

'Besides,' Junior thought as he stood up from the couch. 'Kid probably won't even care; he seems to enjoy what he's doing without the pay check.' He walked over to the mini fridge in the corner of the tiny kitchen and opened it up.

Stocked full of alcohol. 'Ahh, the benefits of owning a bar…' Junior pulled out an unopened bottle of 'Weissky' and downed half of it where he stood. He started the trek back to the couch, drinking the whole way there, and by the time he sat down, the bottle was empty.

"Ugh, I need to start bringing some for the return trip."

* * *

"So Jaune, when are you going back to work?" Pyrrha asked as team JNPR sat in their dorm. Jaune looked up from the magazine he was reading 'Remnants of the Drinks of Remnant' to see Pyrrha brushing her hair, a nightly ritual she does before bed.

"What day is it again?" He asked as he folded the page he was currently on: 'The Vacuum of Vacuo' and stood from his bed. "It's Friday, Jaune." Jaune nodded as he opened up his wardrobe and stared at his uniform.

"Three days, I'll be back at work in three days, on Monday." Jaune's eyes glided over the cheap fabric the shirt, pants and vest was made out of and they rested on the beautifully woven tie. Even in the dark closet, the silk shone with all the light in the world.

Jaune sighed softly as he closed the closet and lay down in bed. "I can't wait to get back there; it's nice seeing Melanie and Miltia outside of work, but my hands are aching to be pouring those glasses."

Pyrrha laughed softly as she also turned in for the night. "Don't worry Jaune; I'm sure the time will pass like nothing." Jaune smiled to his partner as he turned off the lights in the room and went to sleep, eager to let time pass as quickly as possible.

As expected, the weekend droned on for longer than Jaune could imagine. He found it rather ironic that he was waiting for the weekend to be over, seeing as it's usually the other way around. After Jaune realized that sleeping the entire weekend away would be detrimental to his health, he decided to go visit team RWBY.

Terrible idea. Weiss rattled him about breaking the law the entire time and when she wasn't pestering him, Yang was doing it for details about his 'girlfriend' once more. It all went downhill when he mentioned the roses.

Weiss was appalled, Ruby was surprised, Blake was indifferent and Yang was literally rolling on the floor laughing at the thought of Jaune giving two girls roses in front of one another and **both **of them accepting.

Jaune was fairly confused by this until Weiss informed him that a red rose symbolizes a passionate love. Unbloomed, red roses symbolize a passionate love that has yet to blossom. This caused Jaune to have a minor panic attack after he realized he basically just confessed to two girls at once.

'No wonder Yang's laughing.' What caused Jaune to be even more confused was the fact that both girls accepted the roses. 'They mustn't know what it symbolizes either. Yeah, that's got to be it.' Jaune's mind managed to beat that thought into itself and he eventually accepted it as the truth.

He made a smart choice by leaving then and there. Jaune's befuddled mood soon deflated when he came across the rest of his team, they informed him that they were going to go train and asked if he would like to join them. He accepted immediately.

On the way to the training grounds, Jaune decided to ask the NPR of his JNPR what they knew about flowers, more specifically, roses. Nora knew they were pretty and smelled nice. Pyrrha said that giving a rose to someone was romantic and Ren told him the same thing Weiss did.

He decided not to ask why the man was so well informed on the subject. "What does that 'Chrissy-hooha' flower that you brought for Miltia the other day mean?" Ren made the motion of sighing, but no breath was heard.

"A Chrysanthemum's petal, when placed under a wine glass encourages a long and healthy life. Knowing this girl works at a bar, the wine glass itself seemed unimportant." Jaune nodded to himself.

"Alright, and what would you say if I told you I gave her half a bouquet of unbloomed red roses and the other half to her sister?" Everyone stopped and stared at Jaune in awe. "I'd say you have the audacity of a madman…"

Everyone nodded in agreement and that was all that was needed to put a damper on Jaune's Saturday. He retired for bed early that day and prayed to all the Gods of the Rooster's Teeth that the next day would be more bearable.

If you guess it wasn't, congratulations: you have common sense. Jaune woke up the next morning to find Ren looming over him with a book in hand a two cups of coffee in the other. A quick glance to the side informed Jaune that it was only five in the morning.

"You're coming with me." Ren ordered the leader and dragged the scraggly boy out of the warm embrace of his bed. If Jaune were actually awake, he may have protested. Soon enough, Ren dropped Jaune in one of the seats that adorn the massive cafeteria and sat next to him.

"What's this all about?" Jaune asked groggily as he leaned side to side. "These next few weeks are going to be tough for you and it's your own fault, but I feel it necessary to at least **prepare **you for what's to come."

Jaune stirred slightly as he drank the cup of coffee, he was immediately awake in no time. "And that is?" He asked as he looked at the book Ren put on the table. "Girls." The implosion that followed in Jaune's mind would never be beaten for the rest of his life.

"Alright, Ren. There are a lot of thoughts in my head, and I'm going to ignore the obvious question as to **how **you know stuff about girls and ask why **I **need to know stuff." Ren simply opened the book in front of him. A catalogue of flowers.

"That's not for me to say, you'll know why eventually and it's important to stay prepared." Jaune nodded absentmindedly as he decided to ask the next question. "Alright, I can't ignore it anymore. How do you know stuff about girls?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Let's just say that Nora wasn't the only friend I had growing up…" Jaune felt the need to ask more questions, but that died down when Ren gave him a stern glare. "Focus in this, Jaune. It's far more important than you realize."

Jaune gulped and nodded. "Good, now as you know, a Chrysanthemum can symbolize…"


	6. Overtime

Overtime

Jaune breathed in hard and deep as he stood in front of his wardrobe, work attire now equipped and goofy smile on his face. "Ahh, just smell that fabric…" Pyrrha shook her head as she looked him up and down. She had to admit, the outfit did him justice.

"Excited to be back at work, Jaune?" He grinned and turned back to face her. "You bet I am! I get to go back to mixing drinks, **and **Miss Miltiades will be out of the hospital, it'll be awesome!" He could see it now…

'Miss Miltiades and I will joke around, Melanie will make a few jabs, Junior will yell at us and I'll go back to mixing drinks for people…' Jaune was in bliss. "Well you better hurry, or you'll miss the ship!"

Realizing his tiny amount of time, Jaune ran out the door and straight to the airdock, even so far away he could still hear his teammate's laughter. 'Jerks.' As Jaune situated himself on the airship and removed his stomach of all dinner, he happily waited for his day to truly begin.

Sadly, Jaune's expectations were diminished the moment he walked into the club. After gaining a warm welcome from Miltia and Junior, a harsh glare from Melanie and indifferent shrugs from the grunts, Jaune was sent into the supply closet for inventory. Junior also informed him of his dock in pay.

'Alright, not the greatest start, but the day can get better…' It didn't. Immediately after Jaune finished the hour long job of inventory, with a speaker blaring music that shouldn't be in a supply closet into his ears, he was sent on guard duty as a bouncer.

As expected, no one took him seriously with his small frame and blonde hair and everyone tried to push past him as they waited to get into the club. He would be having none of that. Brandishing his sword and doing a few flourishes seemed to put the people in their place and most stopped ignoring him.

There were obviously the odd few who still tried to screw the rules, and subsequently Jaune, but they were showed the error of their ways soon after. All in all, Jaune's night was not turning out as fun as he had hoped.

After another hour, Jaune was given a break and he sat down in one of the many couches that aligned the walls of the club. He rested his head against the back of the couch with a weary sigh as he relaxed. Not long afterwards, Melanie showed up and sat down next to him. "Hey." She said dully as she did her best not to make eye contact. "Hi…" Jaune replied as he looked at her in confusion.

She sighed before she turned to him with a half-hearted glare. "Junior's looking for you, I don't know what it's about, but he said to send you to him when your break's over." Jaune nodded dumbly and the girl took off the moment the message was received.

After a few more minutes of resting his tired bones, Jaune stood up and left for the back office behind the stairs. When he entered, Jaune noticed Junior looking right at him, instead of the usual looking away thing he liked to do. "Jaune, I need you to stay overtime today."

Jaune blinked in confusion. "Okay… why?" He asked as Junior sighed and leaned his elbows on the table. "Some grunts noticed a few problems in the remodelling and are heading out to fix it, which basically means you're the only competent employee left."

Jaune's eyebrow rose. "What about Melanie and Miss Miltiades?" Junior stared at Jaune in shock. "You… y-you think that…" The tall man snickered to himself for a moment before regaining his bearings. "In any case, unpaid overtime."

Jaune shook his head in shock. "What about school? There are no more scheduled departures after three, not until six a.m. at the earliest. Junior sighed. 'There's always **something.**' He coughed loudly. "Then you'll just have to stay here for the night." Jaune looked around the office. "H-here?"

Junior couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Jaune, there's a condo up stairs, where do you think Melanie, Miltia and I stay when we aren't at work?" Jaune decided not to answer that question. "So you have a guest room?"

"No, I have a spare couch, you can stay there." Jaune took all that Junior had told him into account. 'I have to work overtime, without pay, stay on some busted up old couch and go to school late, if not **miss **it entirely.' Jaune sighed. "Understood."

Junior nodded. "Good, now head to the bar, you've got people to inebriate." Jaune's eyes lit up at the thought and he ran out of the office and straight behind the counter. The current barman didn't know what hit him.

As patrons surrounded Jaune and yelled at him to give them liquor, Jaune smiled and did just that. "Excuse me!" A woman called to him as Jaune finished serving another drink to a lone clubber. "Yes, what can I get you?" Jaune replied.

The woman grinned and grabbed Jaune by his tie, bringing him closer to her inch by inch. "How about you?" She breathed with a distinct scent of alcohol on her breath. Jaune nervously laughed. "Sorry ma'am, not on the menu…"

The woman was about to retort, until she was suddenly picked up by one of the goons. "Thank you, Reginald." Miltia said through clenched teeth as the hussy was escorted out of the club. Jaune sighed in relief. "Thank you, Miss Miltiades; I don't know what was happening there."

Miltia glared at Jaune, causing him to take a step back. "You're staying here tonight?" Jaune gulped. "Y-yes?" Miltia took a step closer, despite the bar standing between them, Jaune felt like he was being crushed. "Where?" She asked as Jaune could swear he felt his pants warming up.

"The-the couch…?" Miltia stood staring at him for several more seconds before she nodded. "Good, carry on then." Jaune gasped for breath as he dropped himself onto the counter. 'Why is everyone acting so weird today?!'

It didn't end there. Throughout the entire night, Jaune was being hit on by women, ignored by the twins and treated harshly by Junior. No matter what he tired, nothing would make sense. His shift eventually ended and Jaune retired upstairs for the night. "It's obvious, I'm dreaming…" He entered the small condo and looked around.

"Heh, shag carpeting, shocker." He looked around the small living room to find a couch sitting in the middle of it, with a small coffee table in front of the couch and a television in front of it, against the wall. Looking to his left, Jaune saw an open door clearly leading into a large bedroom. 'Must be Juniors…'

To his right, Jaune saw a wall dividing the living room from the kitchen, in which sat a stove, a dustowave and a refrigerator. Behind the wall was the rest of the living room, though nothing was in it.

There was another door there that lead to a hallway with another three doors. One lead to a bedroom filled with red and black decorations, while the second was filled with the colours white and blue. The third door was a bathroom.

'Gee, I wonder who stays in these…' Having closed the club for the rest of the day, Junior walked into the condo with Melanie and Miltia in tow. "Hey guys!" Jaune greeted happily, trying to get some kind of response from them. Three glares was all the response he was getting.

Jaune sighed as he lied down on the rough couch and decided to go to sleep. His co-workers had all gone to their own rooms, so Jaune figured there was nothing left to do today. Closing his eyes, Jaune drifted off to a restless sleep.

He awoke a few hours later in the middle of the night to someone shoving his shoulder. Raising his groggy head from the couch, Jaune looked to find Miltia in her pyjamas standing next to him, very nervously.

"Mil- Miss Miltiades? What are you doing here?" Miltia shushed him with her finger immediately. She then began to speak with a whisper. "I-I can't sleep. Do you think you can stay with me tonight?" Jaune blushed profusely at the thought and nodded his head slowly.

Miltia smiled shyly and grabbed his hand, pulling him from the couch and taking him to her room. She jumped into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, a massive blush on her face. Jaune crawled in and lied down next to her. Keeping a gentlemanly distance between them.

The distance was covered the second Miltia rolled over and lied on his chest. Jaune was hesitant at first, but eventually decided to wrap his arms around her. He found it was an amazing choice when she made a high pitched squealing noise.

"Miss Miltiades?" Jaune asked tentatively, unsure if he wanted an answer to the question that was bugging him all day. "Yes?" Miltia replied, snuggling closer to him. "Why was everyone acting so weird today? They were so… distant, even you."

Miltia closed her eyes and sighed. "You've broken all the rules that Junior gave when you started here. If it were anyone else, you'd be out of a job." Jaune tightened his grip on her. "What makes me such a special case?"

Miltia blushed. "You're important to all of us. Junior and Melanie included. None of us want you gone, but we can't just let these things go." Jaune loosened his grip. "So to punish me you all give me the silent treatment and unpaid overtime? As well as force me to miss school?"

Miltia laughed nervously. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds kind of stupid…" Jaune sighed as he tightened his grip once more. "Whatever, let's just get some rest." Miltia nodded in his arms and smiled to herself. "Goodnight, Jaune." Jaune brought his head down and gave Miltia a quick kiss through her hair. "Goodnight, Miltia." One thought remained in his head as he drifted off to sleep. 'Smells like juniper berries.'

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe she actually did it." Jaune's eyes shot open as he looked around the unfamiliar room he was lying in. Although, upon remembering last night's event, he calmed down. He then noticed the extra weight on his chest and looked down to find Miltia in his arms. "Huh, so this is a thing…"

He heard a voice from the far side of the room. "Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are…" Looking up, Jaune saw Melanie standing in the doorway, she was wearing her own pyjamas and her face was void of makeup. 'Well then, I was right. She does look better without it.'

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to get out of bed?" Jaune looked between Melanie and Miltia nervously, unsure of which direction he should take. "What time is it?" He asked, hoping he could still make it back to Beacon. "Nine." Melanie replied in a bored tone.

Jaune sighed with a smile on his face as he unravelled himself from Miltia's arms. He felt guilty when she made a mewl of disapproval, but seeing that Melanie had left the room, he figured he could indulge her for a moment.

Lowering his head to hers, Jaune tucked the blanket tighter around her and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Rest well." He said before leaving the room and entering the living room. Melanie seemed to have disappeared and Junior was nowhere to be found, so Jaune figured it best he leave as well.

Jaune exited the small apartment and wound his way down the stairs, eventually leading him back into the main club. 'It looks so different during the day…' Brushing off his awe of how big the building actually is, Jaune made for the exit and ran all the way across Vale so he could reach the airdock in time.

The moment he was on board, Jaune felt the urge to vomit, but he held it down as best he could. 'Now is not the time!' Checking his Scroll, Jaune found that he was certainly missing first period, but he should be able to sign in late.

'I can't believe this is supposed to be punishment for something I did at work…' After ten gruelling minutes of air travel, Jaune ran off the airship and straight to his dorm room. He slammed the door shut the second he was inside and instantly changed from his work uniform to his school uniform.

Happily changed, Jaune sprinted to his first class of the day. Port's Grimm Studies. He made quite the commotion upon entering the class, but managed to die things down and situate himself comfortably in one of the vacant chairs.

He did his best to ignore the worried looks of all his friends, and Port's droning was certainly a helpful distraction. Eventually, however, the bell rang for lunch and Jaune would be forced to speak with his friends. 'I hope they don't ask any unnecessary questions…'

"So, get lucky last night, Jaune?" Jaune clenched his teeth the moment Yang wrapped her am over his shoulder. "No Yang, I did not get lucky last night." Yang grinned and tightened her grip on him. "Oh?" She asked with a quick sniff through her nose. "Then why do you smell like juniper berries? I have that shampoo myself you know."

Jaune froze and clenched his eyes shut, wishing it were all a cruel dream, but upon opening them, Jaune found himself being pushed into a seat in the cafeteria while all his friends waited patiently for him to say where he was.

Jaune sighed as Yang's grin widened. "I had to do overtime at work, so I came to school late." Everyone was fairly upset at the mundane answer, Yang especially. She was certain that there was more to it than that. "So where did you stay last night?"

Jaune flinched. 'I was hoping she wouldn't ask that.' Taking in a deep breath, Jaune prepared himself for the onslaught of questions to come. "I stayed in a condo above the club I work at. Mr. Xiong let me sleep on his couch, but Miltia…" He wasn't sure if he should tell the full story.

"Miltia…?" Yang inquired, already knowing where this was going. "She couldn't sleep, so she asked me to stay with her for the night… in her bed." Ruby and Weiss gasped in shock while Blake kept her surprise more hidden. The members of team JNPR knew something like that was bound to happen though. It was fairly obvious she likes him.

Yang, on the other hand, smashed her hand on the table and laughed. "I knew it! I knew you had a girlfriend Jaune!" Most of the cafeteria heard the outburst and turned to the table to see what was going on, when they saw Yang laughing, they knew it was certainly nothing.

Yang continued to laugh as everyone bombarded Jaune with questions concerning what he may have done in a girl's bed that night. She looked at his embarrassed face and grinned. 'I think it's about time I payed him a visit at work. I should be free tomorrow, what day was that again?' Yang pulled out her Scroll and checked the date.

'Oh yeah, Tuesday.'

* * *

**Sorry about the long wait. I'm back on track and updates will be coming a lot more fluently. Much longer than this one too, I promise.**


End file.
